Month: January 2025

If you’re anything like me, at least in the US, you’ve probably been busy fishing through your Medicine Basket trying to figure out what strategies might help you stay on your road in this moment of political insanity overwhelm.

Add to all that the project of rearranging and repurposing most of our home and a hypermobility pain flare, and I needed to dig deep.

The thing that helps me most is remembering why the things that matter DO matter! I’ve had some help from my friends! Here’s a bit of a message shared by the amazing artist, animal conservation activist, photographer, and coach, Julie Steelman…

It’s times like these that call for the MATRIARCHS OF PEACE.  Female elephants taught me this.  The lead female will never hurt herself and she will always protect her herd.  She is bold and will confront any challenges head on.

In times of war… political challenges & craziness… uncertainty and a planet on fire, we need to invoke this energy within ourselves.

I think something inside me suspected that this time was coming when, a year or so ago, I painted the painting nicknamed Matilda…

Officially, she’s an Intentional Creativity® #Apothecary painting. And, yes, you may remember meeting her before, because she’s huge medicine in my basket!

There are two kinds of images in the layers of her story. The ones I put there intentionally, and the ones that appeared as the process unfolded. Matilda, herself is one of those which appeared. The line of white dots with parentheses around them opened the psychic door. Known as the line of unimaginable tragedy, I saw an elephant’s trunk where others saw an octopus tentacle.

Isn’t perception cool???

With a whole lot more gazing and musing, along with more layers of paint, the official title of this work insisted on being The Art of Overcoming Obstacles®. And, she’s laid claim to an important piece of the wall in my study where she can convince me to turn off the news and do something – you know – nurturing!

Like, for example, reminding me what Julie said about elephant matriarchs of peace!

So, today, I joined up! I am a Matriarch of Peace! And I probably have lots to learn on the road but I’m good at that. Here’s the part that hooked me…

The lead female will never hurt herself and she will always protect her herd.

And here’s my growing edge… 

She is bold and will confront any challenges head on.

This, frankly, is not what I grew up learning. But, as the old saying goes… I am still learning! And I want, with all my heart, for my grand-teens to have a chance to learn about this as we wonder and wander together.

The amethyst elephant you met as we began is easier to carry with me than Matilda is! And, at least now, she’s chilly to the touch, with is kind of soothing to my right hand.

The blue kyanite crystal beside her is supportive in many ways. It is known to instill compassion, and does not hold negativity. Best of all, from my perspective, it encourages speaking one’s truth, cutting through fears and blockages.

And, yes, these are yet more things I didn’t learn in all those degrees! But maybe, just maybe, these are times for learning the things much of the world hoped we’d forget!

ps… that line of white dots with parentheses is my personal symbol for an old, old story that includes the amazing claim: The chains which bound us are broken and we are free at last!

pps… curious about what speaking your truth, and cutting through fears and blockages might look like in your world??? My Medicine Basket and I can help! Just click here and ask the calendar elves to hook you up with 45 minutes. My gift. We’ll claim some truth and figure out the next step on your journey!

At least that’s what my inner word wizard came up with when somebody asked me how things are going! If you’re curious, it’s a phrase traced back to Virginia in 1899 and means a “situation in disarray or turned upside down.”

I’m guessing you can relate!

And here’s a bit more context… I flipped on The West Wing this afternoon. (Duh!) The Special Episode from Season 3, episode 19 popped up. All about press engaging with government, it’s usually not one of my faves but today it caught my attention in a new way. A minute or two in, the late President Jimmy Carter is speaking. Let’s eavesdrop…

Do you want those who will be sycophants… who will defer to you under any circumstances to gain favor or do you want people who will tell you the brutal truth even though it might not be the popular thing to say?

Then, rather ironically, it goes on to conversation about women’s rights!

And, yes… I’m missing Jimmy!

I’m also musing on what I can do to right my own applecart, just now, because I’m not giving up! Musing which has led, with help, no doubt, from My Muse, to the massive adventure in re-arranging and re-purposing which is in full swing at our house.

We’re making progress! And it’s all about claiming self in context.

Claiming Intention is a great first step!

There are paintings hatching and books in the gestational phase. Projects that are urging – pushing – me to show up for me and the things I care about. And one of those things is empowering more Grammy-esque women to get on their roads!

You’ve heard me say this before… in the words of author and theologian, Frederick Buechner:

The place where we are called is where our deep hope and the world’s great longing meet.

I’m pretty sure Fred would agree that we’re talking about the world where all people have rights and values and gifts of their own to bring. I’m utterly certain that’s the world I’m talking about!

And, even though our nest is ass over applecart in this moment, I have a special offer for you! 45 min. My gift. Zoom. (You can have your own comfy chair!) You claim the currently conscious part of that place where you are called and, together, we’ll claim the next right step on your path! Hurry, though. This offer won’t be free for much longer! I want to work with determined people ready to invest in their journeys! (A cuppa, something to write on and with, and some Red Thread, if it’s handy, will be helpful!) Just click here and the calendar elves will hook you up.

ps… if you already know you’re in, get six 90 min. personal coaching sessions for the usual price of four!!! (This offer doesn’t come around very often!)

pps… want more bio stuff??? Cool! Click here!

It only takes a spark!

And, yes, dear heart, I’ve been remembering Dr. King, and the calendar isn’t the only reason!

As you may have heard me say, I remember being a 10 year old kid, out shopping with my dad and hearing, on the radio, that he had been killed. We lived in a Chicago suburb. And, at least in my little white girl eyes, the world exploded.

In this moment, though, I’m choosing to focus on what I – and many, many of us – learned from him. There’s a bit of information, though, that will help you follow along…

One of my contributions to the amazing group of women on the road known as Red Madonna is to share a writing prompt each Monday. So much my thing!!! In the context of our world, this past Monday’s prompt was an invitation to write about talking with kids about change.

And, yes… that sort of question is likely to prompt us to get more conscious of how we, ourselves, deal with change! I’ve been working on it all week!

Here’s the challenge… it helps a whole lot if we start helping them get used to the notion of change long before the magical powers of abstract thought kick in. For girls, that begins to happen around 12 or 13 years. For boys, closer to 16 or so. And it takes quite a while to get the hang of it.

In science-talk, the pre-frontal cortex, which is responsible for reasoning, planning, decision-making, and impulse control, isn’t fully developed until around age 25. Change, however, happens a whole lot sooner for most of us!

So… a week of intensely pondering – and dreaming about – talking with kids about change from the perspective of a Fiercely Compassionate Rebel Grandmother!

Kind of ironically, last night’s dream began with weather as an example. Wind. Rain. Ice. Snow. Seasons. Then, Grandmother Moon moved on to food! From tree to bud to apple to pie! And then, on to growing. The fun part and the awkward part! You get the drift…

There was another surprise in this adventure! Just before I fell asleep, I was reading a book called The Poet Prince, by Kathleen McGowan. There’s a quote of hers that I love:

History is not what happened. It’s what got written down.

There’s also a story, near the end of The Poet Prince, about the historical event I learned as the Protestant Reformation. Martin Luther. A big door. And some notions of how the church might change and why lots of people thought that was a bad idea. Turns out this version of the story was written down by some people who knew a few more things than I learned along the way! Let’s just say things were a lot more complicated than good guys and bad guys and who got to tell the “real” stories about the Bible. And, yes, there was more than a bit of money and power going on behind the scenes… but that’s a story for another day.

For this day I’m sticking with change happens. We get to choose what to do with it… what it’s going to mean about who we are and what we cherish.

The photo at the top is a glimpse into my choosing. That room, generally known as “the breakfast room,” stuffed with most of the things in my studio, on their way to other rooms where they can work better together and help get more things that matter done.

The moving won’t solve all the challenges of our world. It will make it easier to be who we are becoming… The Legendary Husband and me. And that beats giving in!

Here’s one last thought for this moment…

Let no man pull you so low as to hate him! (The Rev Dr Martin Luther King, Jr. 1956)

Thank you for being you!!!

ps… we Fiercely Compassionate Rebel Grandmothers are in charge of Hope!

Nope, not the kind with high heels and diet pills! The kind where you do a thing, or I do, and somebody else sees or hears or experiences it and – possibly for the first time ever – believes they might be able to do it, too. Or something else which seems equally unlikely!

I dreamed about exactly this, last night. And, yes… Grandmother Moon was on the job, again!

Just between us, I think she’s worried about all the room plans I’m drawing and the things that are beginning to be shifted around here and the rumors that the paintings will have new places to hang.

Before we go on, let’s you and I agree that, compared to a lot of what’s in the news, our swapping the purposes of the four main rooms in our house, and moving all the stuff accordingly, is a pretty little thing.

Here’s the thing, though. I can’t change much of what’s going on in the news. And neither can you.

Oh, there are things we can do… and likely have done/are doing! Things like voting. And giving. And praying. Like recycling. Or putting solar panels on the roof. (They’ve come in really handy during recent big storms!) Like loving our Littles for who they are!

And, when you get right down to it, I don’t really want to be in charge of the world.

I DO want to frame how I experience it, and the choices I make in the midst of it. Which brings us to the next book that’s hatching inside me.

Soul Dancing with Grandmother Moon!

The photo at the top is a glimpse of the cover. And it’s going to be a children’s book, like A Creation Poem… though this one wants to be a collection of stories.

One of those stories will be about change.

Another will grow – in ways I’m still working on! – out of an old quote about history. A quote from author/cousin Kathleen McGowan, who knows a whole lot about history. (I was reading one of her books in bed last night!)

And, yes… with help from Grandmother Moon, I am literally dreaming these stories in the – wait for it! – CONTEXT of this moment.

This moment when I am praying for rain in California and giving thanks for all those who have shown up to help. And for the ceasefire to hold. And – against all odds – for at least some of our incoming political leaders to mean the promises they’re making to real people like us.

Once upon a time, pre-abstract-thought-me learned, probably from my mom, that change was terrifying and that the way to cope was to do everything as if it wasn’t happening.

Much of the news these days seems to be about people who think they can create change just by telling people to follow their whims and fantasies. I’m not falling for that, either.

Grandmother Moon has a different message. Change happens. Tides change. Cycles change. Some times are darker than others, and some times are lighter. And it’s all about life.

So, there’s a pot of soup on the stove. And paint drying everywhere. Some of it, paintings of soup! Here’s a peek…

And, yes… that’s a bay leaf in that pot of soup! There’s a whole lot of symbolism that goes along with with bay leaves. This one is about love, strength, and courage.

So, by the way, is the one in the actual soup pot on the stove! When you get right down to it, that’s about what there is!!!

With love and blessings,

ps… not sure about the whole broth thing??? Check pinestreetmarket.com Chef Rusty will hook you right up, locally in the Atlanta area. And he ships in the continental US! Tell him Sue sent you! (You might want to plan ahead, just a bit!)

pps… from now ’til Jan. 20, you purchase my new children’s book, A Creation Poem… sold in FierceArtWithHeart and I’ll donate the full amount of the proceeds, after shipping, to World Central Kitchen – trustworthy folks already on the ground in LA. AND the books are still buy 2, get one free. Translation – you buy 2 copies. I send you 3 copies. (Of course, you can always buy just one copy and I’ll donate the proceeds from that, too. Gladly.) World Central Kitchen gets to feed more people who need it! This is a great way for us to be love & strength & courage! Just click here. No special code needed – just put 3 copies in your basket and the elves will make the magic. This offer is limited to quantity of books on hand. (Questions…. email me! suesvoice@gmail.com)

In the fashion of Stephen Covey, Let us begin, this day, with urgent!

I hope, dear heart, that you and yours are safe, wherever you may be. Actually, I hope that all the time. It’s just that enough snow fell here to mess up my tiny corner of the world and the news from the California wild fires feels very close to home for lots of people in my heart.

So, huddled under my weighted blanket, I returned to my words for 2025.

Promise and Persist… in Good Trouble!

And I discovered that I needed some more words.

Process and Progress… also, of course, in Good Trouble!

And, yes… I’m an alliteration fan! And, also yes… there’s lots to Practice on!!!

All of which feels important to me, globally and in my tiny corner of the the planet where there seem to be more than the ideal number of time and mobility challenges. Thus, Progress and Persist have moved to the top of the list!

Perfect really doesn’t seem like an option. And, I suspect you may be feeling some of that, too!

So, the Legendary Husband and I have started moving some things hither and yon. (The bookcases are a big challenge, especially when they’re not going to have the same books in them that they had before!!!) And, yes… there’s a donation heap!

Then, there’s the place where all my words come together!

An Intentional Creativity® sister asked for paintings for an art show in a part of North Carolina hit hard by Hurricane Helene. Money raised will go toward supporting struggling victims of Domestic Violence which, sadly, often becomes more acute in a crisis.

This is an issue that hits close to home for me, for I am a survivor. A very fortunate one. So… a few not quite finished paintings eager to hold prayer dots of hope and intention! And symbols, like the slightly wonky triangles in this one.

Those are painted quilt blocks, known around here as Liberated Wild Geese blocks. They’re soothing to make and, in Celtic cultures, flying geese are symbols of the Holy Spirit!

When you boil it all down, I am persisting in practicing processes which support, and grow out of, my promise to make progress in the direction of Good Trouble!

Five words, which it looks like 2025 is going to need desperately!

And, a Phoenix rising!!!

ps… I’m awed by the courage and generosity and commitment of First Responders and, is often the case around here, that brings me to a new question. How can I respond??? Here’s one way – from now ’til Jan. 20, you purchase my new children’s book, A Creation Poem… sold in FierceArtWithHeart and I’ll donate the full amount of the proceeds, after shipping, to World Central Kitchen – trustworthy folks already on the ground in LA. AND the books are still buy 2, get one free. Translation – you buy 2 copies. I send you 3 copies. (Of course, you can always buy just one copy and I’ll donate the proceeds from that, too. Gladly.) World Central Kitchen gets to feed more people who need it! This is how WE can respond! Just click here. No special code needed – just put 3 copies in your basket and the elves will make the magic. This offer is limited to quantity of books on hand. (Questions…. email me! suesvoice@gmail.com)

I wrote a post for today. Ahead of time, even! It was a useful story, and we’ll get to it one of these days. Then, context happened!

Actually, context is always happening. It’s just that some days it’s harder to ignore. The Pacific Palisades fires are a huge example!

Like many, many of you, I have people I love in that place. And memories I still relate to. And I’m not sure I have words big enough for the tragedy that is happening there. What I do have is a story. A story from a meeting this afternoon. A meeting that blew my mind – in the best kind of way. In this moment, fix yourself a cuppa. You’re invited, too.

Twelve women from scattered parts of the world, in a Zoom room. All of us artists. Old friends. New friends. I was in charge of planning ahead. And I had a list! There were, however, technical difficulties. Blessedly, we’re a determined bunch and we stayed on our path. I think, perhaps, we all needed the company and the wisdom and the comfort.

We shared a profoundly deep meditation. We checked in with each other. We quilted together bits of prayers and wisdom in a space of trust.

One of our sisters had suggested to me, last night, that I bring my deck of Alana Fairchild’s Sacred Rebels oracle cards so we could pull a card, together. And, yes… this is another of those things they didn’t cover in nursing school or seminary! It felt right, though, so I agreed. Here’s what happened…

I shuffled. A lot. And then I asked another of our sisters for help. As I passed the cards through my hands, it was her job to tell me when to stop.

(This, by the way, is much scarier than – you know – picking a card ahead of time and knowing what was coming!)

This was the card in my hand when Cheryl asked me to stop…

I’m hoping you’ll take a moment to listen in…

No matter how powerful we are, how much courage and strength we have, there are times when we can’t quite move ourselves along to the next phase of life or creative exploration. At such times we need some divine intervention — a little help in pulling our trolley along, so to speak. When we are at the edge of our own limits and have no more personal resources, we might be left with only one spiritual power, that of faith. Fortunately that is enough.

As unlikely as it may seem, the invisible help from the universe is often more powerful than the physical efforts of a thousand men. That is because the invisible help is not limited by physical laws. It can shift, bend and move in ways that defy limitation. It can affect, evoke and influence situations through invisible, but undeniably persuasive means.

You are in a situation where you cannot ‘set right’ the course of events all by yourself. This is not an indication that you have done something wrong, not does this suggest that you are not strong enough. It is a sign that there is something bigger unfolding in your life, and your willpower will be supplemented by the power of life itself. Sometimes a bigger plan needs to manifest for the benefit of humanity and the earth. You need to shift your perspective to realize that you are part of the greater unfoldment of life, that your individual life serves the greater plan and that you are not separate from its genius. This is what is happening now…. the voice of life is now coming straight to your heart with this message:

“I have resources you know not of. It is safe to trust in my ways and in my wisdom, for I love you and I am guiding you into all that is rightfully yours. Know that what is rightfully yours is what your heart truly desires and you need not fear loss. Nothing that is meant to come to you will be denied and it is safe for you to let go and allow me to move you.”

The healing process which follows says this:

Say aloud: “I now ask that all disappointing experiences of the past that have led me to believe that life is not trustworthy or that faith is a sillly or immature way to deal with life, be released from my mind, body and heart. I ask for help to accept that I can and will attract all that is needed into my life, at the perfect time and in the perfect way I aske to be empowered to absolutely receive all that can assist me with gratitude and without shame or guilt. In doing so, I dedicate myself to be a clear, loving, open channel for the flow of life. I know the benefit in doing so is not limited to me, but will flow so that life can benefit others through me. I trust in this now, through unconditional love, so be it.”

It’s a lot, I know. And it may feel strange. And this world needs as many of us open to receiving and sharing as we can get.

So be me. And so be we who are willing.

ps… even though this is an increasingly complicated statement, the Sacred Rebels oracle cards are available on Amazon.

pps… the photo at the top is a glimpse of my Celebratrix #wip

ppps… the next Intentional Creativity® Red Madonna journey is planned to begin in April or May. Stay tuned!